Christmas Present for Michigan Drivers in the Form of a Legislative Reform

By Jeanny HopperPublished: Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

It seems like Michigan is getting its present this year and in excellent timing. Reports are coming out one by one confirming that the state House of Representatives has already placed their names on a legislative act that will relieve Michigan drivers from the burden of paying costly auto policy rates.

For the last decade, auto insurance premiums in the state have been driving motorists off their budget with amounts that seem to be getting steeper and steeper each year when compared to the US average. According to recent statistics released by the Insurance Information Institute, an average citizen in Michigan spends approximately $2,259 on car insurance premiums while national average stands only at $1,753.

Representative Shanelle Jackson said in a recent interview that the few remaining days of December is going to be a beginning of something great for the state of Michigan and its cities. Representative Jackson said that their efforts of working very hard ensuring that the hard-earned money of citizens is put to good use and safeguarding pocketbooks of consumers has paid off. When asked about how she felt on the changes in Michigan auto insurance, Representative Jackson gave a very positive and happy response, emphasizing how beneficial changes will be particularly in Detroit where the prices that drivers pay for their auto policies are generally very expensive compared to the insurance costs for other suburban motorists.

The vehicle insurance reform or coverage package has been drafted with the intention of creating a ban on the use of a motorist’s occupation as a determining factor in premium rate computations. Right now, this bill is waiting to be signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm and the Senate’s final approval. If all goes well and this bill successfully passes the last two stages, then drivers are expected to expect a lot of changes in the way their rates will be calculated and in the state car insurance business landscape as a whole. In addition to imposing a ban in the use of insignificant factors in calculating premiums, insurance providers will also be prohibited to sell customer information without customer’s consent. It has been reported in Michigan that insurance companies sell consumer data to other agencies and even to telemarketing companies.

Reports say that lobbying of this coverage package has been done chiefly by the Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives. According to Democrat legislators, they all agree that passing this bill will ultimately give way to better rates for consumers and to the abolishment of unfair insurance practices.